Last week I focused on the Movement for Change model. This week I’d like to give a specific example of how it can be successfully applied in a community.
As an activist in Enfield Southgate, the Movement for Change (M4C) has helped the Labour party to engage on a far deeper and more meaningful level with the public, by effecting rapid and tangible improvements to a deprived and poorly represented area of the borough, while also enabling the party to build lasting and sustainable relationships.
What was significant in my area was that what the Conservative council and MP failed to do in years on the Ladderswood estate, the new Labour council achieved in just weeks, with the help of M4C.
With the current Tory ward councillors and MP anonymous on the estate, I led a group of dedicated Labour party members aiming to tackle some of the long-term problems. And for the residents of Curtis House, where two of the failed London bombers prepared their attack in 2005, they faced a daily challenge of fear and insecurity.
The result was a disconnect between the residents and their elected representatives. So in order to overcome the cynicism and disillusionment, I used M4C techniques to pull together a small team of activists and run community walks on the estate to identify one of the biggest problems facing the residents of Curtis House – a broken security door. While this may initially appear trivial, its impact meant that 250 residents suffered on a daily basis from an intolerable level of antisocial behaviour and violence – from outsiders using the stairwells for drug-taking, vagrants sleeping rough in the building, to machete attacks, urine in the lifts, and even suicides.
But despite the huge publicity that surrounded the arrests of Muktar Said Ibrahim and Yasin Hassan Omar in 2005, nothing was done to improve the security of Curtis House.
So after building relationships with these residents and training them up to hold their representatives to account, we organised a negotiation between the deputy leader of the council and M4C to discuss concerns surrounding the security door. After hearing some moving testimony, being forced to negotiate with the residents and finally being ‘pinned’ down by them to agree to their requests for a new and secure door, the council agreed and Curtis House for the first time in almost a decade was guaranteed security.
What was crucial was that it was the residents that were instrumental in driving forward the process of change on their estate, in making the demands of the new Labour council and having the courage to hold them to account.
Therefore improvements such as those in Ladderswood are an important step in developing the sense of community on the estate. But M4C’s work in Ladderswood doesn’t end at the doors; the residents M4C has trained are now organising action groups on the estate to tackle other key issues on the estate, such as faulty CCTV and drug-taking.
This experience will be a huge step in developing them as community leaders that will eventually be able to organise their own community to bring about changes by holding their ward councillors and MP to account. But ultimately they will recognise the support given to them by Labour activists on the ground, as well as decisions taken by the Labour council, and this will stand the party in good stead going forward. And that’s where the value of community organising really shines through.
So going forward it will need professional community organisers to take M4C forward within the Labour party, to build on the incredible work that has already been carried out in constituencies around the UK by the 1,200 community leaders that were trained up during the summer. I know that without the time and resources M4C invested in Enfield Southgate, an area where Labour lacked representation, wouldn’t now have a voice.
It’s therefore hugely encouraging that the party is beginning to recognise the merits of community organising. Significantly, Ed Miliband has agreed to take forward the movement, to build on its success and vast potential to rebuild the party from the bottom up, unify the members and organise the party into a powerful, successful, and electable force at the next election.
exactly! so like all the problems thrown up by community response to planned redevelopment at Wornington Green W10 led by Labour Councillor E.Dent Coad
If residents can’t get a door fixed for years the whole repairs system of the Council must be completely disfunctional. If you need a meeting with Cllrs to resolve this perhaps it is time councillors disciplined a few senior officers. Even when Labour was not running the Council I would have expected cllrs to resolve an issue like this. You don’t need M4C to sort out this sort of minor issue, you need decent cllrs. I don’t accept the notion that we can build some great new movement on this basic community politics. This is what the Liberals have been doing for years. It doesn’t translate into national politics – just a few more councillors dealing with national spending cuts.
OR..a Council’s attention may be completely distracted by the accumulation of say £500m. to its Capital Reserve fund as in Kensington & Chelsea (parking fines used to be diverted here ,cut back of course by western Congestion zone,to be abolished..) I think that reserve was called in by the DMO ( can be borrowed back ? ) The hell for leather rush to accomodate business development (still mainly property here) is the priority not doors that hang off ! The Tories think all that sort of thing is just charity don’t they ?
Of course it is the school where community can blend and learn respect for others.The newly created Chelsea Academy which K&C proudly boast has a “distinctly Christian ethos ” ,well isn’t Jesus supposed to have said”suffer little children to come unto me”? he didn’t say little Catholic children or little middle class children who’s parents will say anything? Surely it is the fear and loathing promoted by the Tories and the Church which then gives rise to these separatist Muslim schools where the Saudi edicts are presented as normal ! I feel that if the A.of Canterbury must rethink the Church’s attitude,and the Catholics too.I mean how rich is the Church? they rent out all these lah-de-dah Churches for ‘functions’ for a start don’t they.I am not against religion but I think our Church of this country should start putting its money where its God is.
and does Gove seriously think he can “make schools more equal” without making the Country so ? Muppet.
and now he’s gonna send in the army (cos it like works in America – babe ,NOTHING works in America ! their society makes Lord of the Flies look like Andy Pandy (with more religion and food and drugs and guns obviously) Will they be sending people who have seen action ? or just ‘ been in the Army’,how many recruits are they hoping to garner ? how much will they cost to keep in the Army ? probably more than keeping them on the dole till we find them work,house their parents better etc. Money, that’s what it would have taken to make Comprehensives work ; the Library at Holland Park Comprehensive used to look like a jumble sale with display of so much material for under able kids that the others felt insulted and ashamed,even if they did need help, they could see it ‘looked bad’ (& not ‘bad’ in their sense !) The new Academy style buildings do help with pride & therefore confidence,the glamour and status of these buildings help to alleviate shame ,kids are not stupid often, however deprived they are . Soldiers are about killing ultimately,does Gove think kids won’t know that ?